The nature of retail commerce is such that currency must be available for making change, and that the amount of currency on hand will increase as business is conducted. Keeping such an accumulation of currency on hand, in excess of change-making requirements, risks physical harm and/or theft in many areas. As an alternative to the inconvenience of making multiple daily bank deposits, on-site security safe boxes have become popular. These devices receive deposits of excess cash at any time, without open access to the secured contents and impose an arbitrary delay period on any withdrawals. Currency is either deposited randomly into the primary chamber through a one-way gate or placed in tubular plastic containers and inserted horizontally into specific separate apertures for limited access withdrawal. The apertures lead to chutes, sized so that the tubular containers are held in a single file stack A time delay is imposed for access which is restricted to withdrawals of a single container so as to dispense only a limited amount of cash. Care must be taken to orient the container properly when dropping it into the chute in order to avoid jamming. An authorized identity code or a key is needed to activate a similar, and usually longer, time delay for open access to the primary chamber of the safe box. Such time delays act to discourage thieves, to whom waiting constitutes an unacceptable risk.
Time delay safe boxes have heretofore relied upon 120VAC power systems to power motors for dispensing selected currency containers in the limited access mode. Power interruptions or mechanism failures may cause delays that are inconvenient or worse and container jamming may result, either from improper insertion or a system malfunction. Service and repair access must be provided for interior motors and mechanisms, which are situated behind the container chutes because of space limitations. Removal of the rear panel of the box, done by pulling the unit out from its usual under-counter location, has been the preferred arrangement for such access. This costly inconvenience to servicing has been tolerable inasmuch as it also deters thievery, and the expense of replacement or repair of the powered dispensing apparatus has been accepted as necessary, if undesirable.
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide for secured deposits and timed release withdrawals of excess currency, without reliance upon uninterrupted electrical service, and a further object is to provide improved reliability and reduced maintenance by apparatus which eliminates container jamming as a failure mode. Yet another object is to further reduce operating costs by providing secure access for repairs without pulling the unit from under-counter.
The present invention accomplishes these objectives by providing a simplified container dispensing mechanism which does not require electrical power for dispensing containers and includes a container alignment and release mechanism, which does not require special care for container insertion. A horizontal supporting member is disposed parallel to and beneath the container insertion axis at each receiving aperture, so as to support and position the container. With the container so aligned, lateral displacement of the supporting member allows it to drop freely into the chute without jamming. The timed delay cycle for change withdrawal is enforced by electrically latched drawers, one for each chute, which are interlocked so that only one container can be withdrawn per cycle. With the elimination of dispensing motors and a non-jamming container chute, maintenance expense per unit is greatly reduced. Even so, ready access for service is provided by hinging the front panel of the lock box, together with the change chutes, to swing out and down. The front panel is held in the closed, vertical position by a latch which can be released only from inside the primary chamber.